1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication networks and, more particularly, to mechanisms for determining how much to bill subscribers for communication services.
2. Description of Related Art
Recent growth in the telecommunications industry has ushered in a new era of convenience and productivity. With the widespread availability of wireless and Internet communications, the current thought is that a coappltymmunication service provider (e.g., a telephony carrier and/or Internet service provider) will serve subscribers who gain access to the service provider through any of a variety of different access networks. For example, a service provider might allow subscribers to communicate with or through the service provider via access networks such as (i) a dial-up landline telephone connection, (ii) a cellular (e.g., CDMA, TDMA or GSM) radio access network, (iii) a wired LAN, and (iv) a wireless LAN (WLAN). Further, the service provider might enable a subscriber to seamlessly roam between these various access networks while maintaining a connection or communication path with or through the service provider.
It is also commonplace for a service provider to charge a subscriber for service based on the quantity of data communicated to and from the subscriber and/or based on the quality of communications to and from the subscriber.